UVA official blasts Rolling Stone over rape article

Story here. Excerpt:

'A top University of Virginia official blasted Rolling Stone’s “false portrayal” of the university in a public meeting Friday, saying the university had fallen victim to “drive-by journalism” that showed “callous indifference to the truth.”

Rector George Keith Martin, speaking at a special Board of Visitors meeting, said of the story of an alleged gang rape and the university’s reported indifference to it that “innocent people have been hurt, some of them even devastated,” and that “our great university’s character has been tarnished.”  

The fierce tone contrasted starkly with the comments made by University of Virginia president Teresa Sullivan on Dec. 5, after questions about some of the allegations as reported were raised by The Washington Post. She said then that “While all of us who care about the University of Virginia are upset by the Rolling Stone story, I write now with a different message. Over the past two weeks, our community has been more focused than ever on one of the most difficult and critical issues facing higher education today: sexual violence on college campuses. Today’s news must not alter this focus. Here at U.Va., the safety of our students must continue to be our top priority, for all students, and especially for survivors of sexual assault.”'